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Make a tree house

Whether your son wants to be a pirate or your daughter wants a club, having a tree house is the coolest thing. Even a simple one will be full of memories. Plan ahead to make sure the tree house and tree are both safe enough to handle your children's weight and antics.

Tree, meet my child

Have your son or daughter meet a tree with their eyes closed or blindfolded. Have them feel and smell the tree and tell you what they noticed. If they are nervous you can guide them and help them touch the tree.

Extend this activity by holding your child's hand an taking a walk around a park or the yard blindfolded. Look out for things that are safe but might be interesting to touch or feel.

Note the changing seasons

Time flies and before you know it spring has turned to summer or summer to autumn. Take a walk and take notice of those things that change from month to month. What colour are the leaves? Are there leaves on the trees? Does the grass or ground look dry?

Keep a record of the things you noticed for the different seasons. Then at the end of the year, sit down with your kids and look at all the changes that they saw. Take pictures to have as mementos.

Sneaky secret agent, mission: bug discovery

This is your mission if you choose to accept it. Create mini search parties and seek out bugs and insects. Compare relative sizes and shapes - not all bugs are alike! For an extra challenge, try catching one in a jar, but don't forget to let him go once you're done.

Find some pictures or a chart of bugs online and print it out so your child has a suspect in mind when he begins his search.

What do you hear?

Stand in the middle of the bush and listen quietly to the sounds for three minutes. What do you hear? Were there animals or just the sound of wind moving through the trees?

You can walk into different spaces to see if you hear different types of sounds. When you walk back to the house, try to imitate some of the unique sounds you heard. Check for crickets in any dark places!

Paint or draw the sunset

Use any and all materials for this creative activity. You're likely to have a great view of the sunset anywhere so have some supplies handy and the next time you see the sun coming down, run outside and get started.

Lay some newspaper down to take care of the mess. Put multiple sunset drawings on your fridge or wall together so you can see their differences.